Is it better after birth?

[Lacey]

Hi all new moms and congratulations!
I am really curious if you felt that HG had any affect on your birth experience or recovery?

[Natalie]

Hi

I just wanted to say in terms of birth experience, having suffered through HG made me much more relaxed beforehand about the birth itself. I met a lot of pg women at groups and stuff who were dreading the pain of the birth or the birth itself. I just thought it would be a piece of cake compared to the suffering and misery I had already endured. I had a difficult labour but I would still take the birth any day of the week and twice on sunday rather than HG.

Natalie

[dwtegli]

I agree with Natalie. Compared to HG, birth and recovery was a breeze. I would also take the birth anytime over the HG.

[bibliojo]

I agree with Natalie and Wendy. I'd do my labour and delivery several times over if only I could avoid the HG! I might add though that I think having HG contributed to me having unrealistic ideas of what life after the baby was born would be like. While sick, people kept telling me "oh, it'll be so worth it in the end" and "you'll forget you were ever this sick once you see the baby" etc. And I got ideas about how good it would be to make it worth all this suffereing. However, when I didn't forget how sick I was when my son arrived and when I was sleep deprieved and up all hours of the night with a cranky, colicky baby, I couldn't see how all those months of HG was worth it and I developed PPD. I had a lot of resentment built up towards my son for making me so sick and it took several months of counseling to resolve those issues. I wish people would have instead said to me when I was sick "yes, it will be worth it in the long run, but don't expect it to be great right away" which would have been more realistic. But I'm happy to report that I now can say that my son was worth every bit of that suffering but it took a year to be able to say that! Going through HG is very traumatic and it takes a tremendous toll on one's body physically and mentally. Those who go through it need to allow themselves time to heal from such an awful experience of being pregnant.

Joanna

[Lacey]

thanks for the replies! especially thanks to joanna for her honesty. since i have ongoing depression everyone assumed i would have PPD with my daughter. but i didn't! and i didn't have HG that time. but now, having HG, i do feel resentful sometimes and i feel bad, but i still do. and i have the same thoguhts that i'll have to fight this for such a long time then go back to the crying late nights sore breasts and not exactly feel cheered up. i'm glad to hear such positive outcomes from everyone.

[mammaclare]

Here is my take--completely unscientific!

I agree that after months of misery that labor was no biggie...and I had a long 21 hours of it, but still. Now (TMI ahead) I swear up and down that the straining and "work" I had to do every day to poop b/c of the constipation from 8 months of Zofran made my pushing muscles strong. I pushed three times total--only one push for the OB! She was pretty impressed with the pushing power I had--I was only thinking "I want to meet this turkey and then possibly have some breakfast or something if I feel better!"--

As for PPD--my peri thought I was high risk as I had significant depression peripartum...so I started Zoloft immediately after Rory was born and I am glad I did.

[Chedasha]

My sister seemed to be like many of you. She was looking forward to the birth as she felt it meant the end of HG and a baby and it was something that would end after not too long.

In the end she had to have a caeser due to breech and pre-eclampsia.. though when they bought him out he had just turned about hour before they took her in lol

she felt a little cheated now with the caeser cause this will be her one and only and she did somewhat want her labour story. But she was incredibly happy and still is just having him.

he is completely gorgeous though LOL

Kat

[IslandDreamer]

When I delivered my son in 1999, I pushed for over three hours. I was so weak, tired and depleted that I had little in me for labor. The hg left me in poor shape for labor. Would I choose 10 miserable labors over hg, sure I would. But labor was not easy or short in any way.

Also, I was very slow to recover overall as I ended up with postpartum mood disorders on top of hg and long labor , so...blah.

[Chedasha]

When I delivered my son in 1999, I pushed for over three hours. I was so weak, tired and depleted that I had little in me for labor. The hg left me in poor shape for labor. Would I choose 10 miserable labors over hg, sure I would. But labor was not easy or short in any way.

Also, I was very slow to recover overall as I ended up with postpartum mood disorders on top of hg and long labor , so...blah.

Yes I think in that respect it was good for her to have the Casear as feeling the way she was best to get it over with as quickly as possible. Ive never seen a person transformed so fast. One minute ill as dog next coming out of the operating room looking healthy as LOL

the main problem she sufffered was her back hurt sooo much after that in the early days she couldnt really lift Connor too much. So her partner and I did most of the lifting of the baby. She couldnt really even bend to put him in the car seat. It wasnt her scar that caused any problems just her back.

[adelmaal]

The only time I didn't puke was during and after childbirth. It was a breeze. I never needed any pain management during my two labors and have insisted I would go through labor over an over again to avoid having HG!

I have to add though that having HG really bad with my daughter I believe contributed to depression after she was born. I had no energy, I was sleep deprived, it was my first time nursing and it hurt for awhile and I just had no motivation to do anything!

With my son though it was a breeze after I had him. My HG had been managed better, I had much more energy and I was much more confident with nursing.

I'm hoping my 3rd time will be the absolute charm!

[kirsty]

I had 2 pretty easy labours. the first was around 6 hours, the second only 1 hour. I would definately go for that over 9 months of puking!
with my first I was eating the next day and loving it, but threw up after the birth till they gave me a shot. the second I had an epidural which made me throw up! I was sick for 3 days after the birth. won't be doing that again with no 3!
my kids are terrible sleepers for the first year, but the sleep deprivation is far preferable to the hg for me. must be, cause I'm half way thru preg no 3!

[stephensmam]

Hi Im the same id go through a hundred labours befor hg again, I felt the same as joanna on my first it took me a long time to see if it was all worth it pnd ect but luckily i dont have those feeling now with my darling daughter even though the hg was excatly the same i adore my son now but i can honestly say i resented him when he was born and it took a few months to really realise how precious he was .

I remember before hg kicked in i looked at the last page of a pg book and cried when i saw a woman in labour i though no was i cant do that little did i know what i would face a week after that the labour was a brezze compared to the horrer of hg and the disruption to life .